Troy teen helping build WWII monument in Royal Oak

Mitch Huber, left, 16, of Troy is leading a new fundraising effort to build a World War II Memorial in Royal Oak with statues by sculptor Larry Halbert to illustrate the state’s contribution on the front lines and the home front. (Submitted photo)

A Troy teen is doing his part to honor The Greatest Generation by leading a fund-raising effort to help build the Michigan World War II Legacy Memorial in Royal Oak.

Mitch Huber, 16, is the state president of the Michigan Society of Children of the American Revolution (CAR). The group supports a project every year and it is setting its sights on the state monument project launched by volunteers affiliated with Honor Flight Michigan.

The CAR members are selling specially designed pins for $5 each. They will use some of the proceeds to buy a $1,000 brick paver inscribed with their group’s name for the Walk of Honor and donate any money left over to the construction fund of the $1 million-plus project.

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Plans for the expansive memorial call for tributes to the front lines and the home front. Sculptor Larry Halbert is working on the clay models of figures that will depict Michigan’s dual role in the war. More than 600,000 Michigan residents served in the military while thousands more turned the state into the Arsenal of Democracy.

“We want to help with this big undertaking and have a piece of Children of the American Revolution at the memorial,” Mitch said.

The red, white and blue pin represents land, air and sea. There’s a stylist pen used to write Army soldier letters, a riveter for the women who made bombers and the airman who flew them, and a milkweed pod for the children who collected the material that made life vests buoyant for sailors.

“The milkweeds were collected all over the country but the processing plant was in Petoskey so it’s definitely part of the Michigan story,” said Debi Hollis, president of the volunteer legacy memorial board.

Hollis is beyond pleased that Mitch and young descendants of American Revolutionaries are getting involved in the effort.

“For us, a big element of the project is educating the youth,” she said. “We couldn’t ask for anything better than Mitch going around as a spokesman on our behalf to speak about the memorial.”

However, the board is asking for people as equally important to step up and make the monument to a Michigan point of pride a reality.

“Corporate people: Hello, please call,” Hollis said.

The Greatest Generation is becoming a lost generation as the youngest of the WWII enter their mid-80s.

There is no ground-breaking date set for memorial construction. The focus is on raising money and making a model of the extensive tribute.

The Michigan CAR pin will be unveiled about 1 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Park, which is at the northeast corner of Woodward Avenue and 13 Mile Road. CAR members are having their statewide meeting there from about 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To contact Mitch about buying a pin, email him at micarpresmitch@outlook.com.

For more information about the memorial, including how to donate a brick paver in honor of someone you know, contact www.michiganww2memorial.org.